Eels?

[Bobborocco]

So im am looking at an eel to add for my tank. Debating between a fire eel or a Tessalata Eel or possibly a banana eel. Any advise guys. I love the way that the tessalata looks and i am leaning more towards this one. Let me know what you guys think. Any advise helps.:bounce3:

[Dragon moray ki]

well what size is your tank and what are your tank mates. i can tell you right now that i would not put a tessie in anything less than 300 gallons maybe 250. i have kept a banana eel and they are fairly calm i didnt have any prioblems with mine the tessie was far more agressive. the fire eel is about the same as the banana. hope this helps

[Bobborocco]

tank size is a 180. tank mates will be purple tang, lion fish, hurlikin tusk, hippo tang. Still putting the tank together as far as the fish that i want in there.

[randomfishguy85]

the tesseleta will eat all of your fish. the fire eel is g.milliaris? if so it would be a good fit, and since the banana eel is just a colour morph of g.miliaris, it would be good too. Tesseletas are large fish eating eels that are terrible for community tanks

[Bobborocco]

wow i didn't know that lol. i thought that they would be a good fit for an aggressive tank. I didn't know they would eat all my other fish lol! THANKS!!!!

[randomfishguy85]

even if they didnt eat other fish, they get absolutely massive. definitely too big for a 180 gallon. But they will eat other fish, even aggressive fish like clown triggers or emperor angels

[Twistofer]

What about a Snow Flake? They are very peaceful (for the most part), active in the evenings and don't get too big.

[hossa81]

What about a Snow Flake? They are very peaceful (for the most part), active in the evenings and don't get too big.

+1, great eel that is very active durinf feeding times. they have pretty small mouths too so their is no danger in them eating your fish. if you want something big why not a zebra moray eel, they wont eat your fish because they only eat crustaceans, or at least that is what I heard.

[Bobborocco]

I like the snow flake. nothing wrong with it at all. Everyone has one lol. I just want something different then what most people have.

[randomfishguy85]

go with the miliaris. they are beautiful

[Bobborocco]

yeah i think that is what i may be going with!

[Das awesome]

I have a fimbriated eel that is my favorite fish! I think its just as cool as a tesselata without getting as big, 3ft I think. The only thing is that mine is super aggressive and has attacked fish and killed them that were WAY too big for it to eat.

[Bobborocco]

yeah i don't want my eel attacking my other fish if i can help it lol

[Das awesome]

yeah i don't want my eel attacking my other fish if i can help it lol

haha I don't blame ya. If you have the money, go for a banana! They stay small, are relatively pretty mellow and they're freaking gorgeous! If I had the money, I would get one.

[Bobborocco]

ever hear anything about a yellow head eel?

[slowwrx137]

ever hear anything about a yellow head eel?

I'm no expert but I believe the yellow head eel is the same as the Fimbriated Moray Eel which is aggresive.

[Bobborocco]

are we talking like aggressive like the tessy?

[slowwrx137]

are we talking like aggressive like the tessy?

I don't own one so I'm not sure how aggressive, I'm sure someone with more experience can answer. However it is the same eel as referred to in this post.

I have a fimbriated eel that is my favorite fish! I think its just as cool as a tesselata without getting as big, 3ft I think. The only thing is that mine is super aggressive and has attacked fish and killed them that were WAY too big for it to eat.

[Das awesome]

are we talking like aggressive like the tessy?

Yes! They are EXTREMELY aggressive. Like my earlier post said, mine is only 1-1/2ft and is attacking fish much much larger than it can consume. Each has their own personality though. You might get lucky cuz even though mine has attacked multiple fish, there's a green spotted puffer and 2 blue/green chromis that he hasn't payed any attention to. When I first got it though, I started off with 7 chromis, but I'm not sure if the eel actually got them or if they killed each other off and the eel just picked off the bodies, but the point is, he hasn't touched the 2 remaining ones. He might eventually, but so far he shows no interest in them.

[xrayjeeper83]

Hope he doesn't take interest in the gsp, that could spell death for both. That's why I won't move my gsp into my big tank, afraid my would eel will eat it

[rssjsb]

You're right about the zebra, but thisthey have pretty small mouths too so their is no danger in them eating your fish. is not right (or not necessarily). They are pretty safe when small, but once they reach sexual maturity, all bets are off. They can easily eat angels, butterflies, tangs.

[hossa81]

in that quote are you talking about the snowflake or the zebra moray, because I was talking about the snowflake in that quote. my snowflake has literally crawled over my starry blenny and the snowflake never even showed any interest. not so sure about the zebra because I have not owned a tank big enough for one, but what I heard about them is that they show less interest in fish because their main diet is crustaceans.

[rssjsb]

I was talking about the snowflake. When they're juveniles, they eat crustaceans. However, once they hit 24" and sexual maturity their teeth change and so does their behavior. The size of their heads and mouths are no indicator of the size of fish they can take down.

They do this pretzel thing with their bodies that's pretty amazing (unless you're another fish). I had one for many years with no problem. Once it reached adulthood and started doing that pretzel thing, my other fish (a rabbit and lined puffer) would huddle in the corners at feeding time.

That doesn't guarantee that all snowflakes, or even most, will become killing machines. But I would not trust one with small fish once they approach the 24" mark.

Zebras are usually much safer in the long run.

[Bobborocco]

okay well thanks everyone for all the info!! Great stuff here!! I think that i am going to just stick with either the banana eel or the fire eel to be safe!

[hossa81]

I was talking about the snowflake. When they're juveniles, they eat crustaceans. However, once they hit 24" and sexual maturity their teeth change and so does their behavior. The size of their heads and mouths are no indicator of the size of fish they can take down.

They do this pretzel thing with their bodies that's pretty amazing (unless you're another fish). I had one for many years with no problem. Once it reached adulthood and started doing that pretzel thing, my other fish (a rabbit and lined puffer) would huddle in the corners at feeding time.

That doesn't guarantee that all snowflakes, or even most, will become killing machines. But I would not trust one with small fish once they approach the 24" mark.

Zebras are usually much safer in the long run.

I'll keep that information in mind. My snowflake is probably about 20 or so inches currently. He takes well to stick feeding all the time and tends to stick to himself. Except when you start sticking your hand in the tank, he is ver curious for a fish that can't see that well, which is what scares me when I stick my hand in the tank.

[talldude]

Are there any good books on eels? Or websites that cover all the different eels, habits, diets, etc. I know it's all here on RC if I do enough searching and read enough threads. My wife wants an eel and it would be easier to point her to a book or a website focused on them.

[Boat_Drinks]

As far as books go, I recommend Scott Michael's Reef Fishes. The first volume has a pretty inclusive section on Moray Eels.

[danimallaminad]

I have a chainlink and he is very interesting. They only get about 24in. and he is about 14in. I hand feed him which is really fun but now when i put my hand in the tank for cleaning or whatever reason he comes up to me and almost begs for food haha. He has eaten 1 fish that I know for sure and 1 disappeared the day after I put the eel in the tank. The 2 fish were firefish so it was really risky putting the eel in but I love the eel.

[welsher7]

I would get a zebra eel. They are about as fish safe as you can get. They don't have the fang type teeth like most eels, but have all molars used for crushing. They aren't very common either and get to a good size. I have a 30+" one that I have had for almost 6 years. It is always the fish people want to see.

Also all eels should be considered dangerous towards other fish. They have really poor vision and rely mostly on smell. So they can strike at something that gets to close when they smell food in the water. My zebra accidently crushed a ringens trigger when the trigger swam in front of the feeding stick at the exact time the eel went to bite down on the food. The eel released the trigger immediately but the trigger was already chrushed. I now feed the eel as low in the tank as I can to prevent this from happening again.

[AmberFL03]

Zebras are awesome but I couldn't put one in my tank without feeling bad for it lol. I have a 55 set up and a 125 in the spare room that I'm not setting up for a while and if they get almost 5 feet I couldn't put the poor thing in a 55. I just got a snowflake and really wanted a Greyface/White-Eyed Moray (gymnothorax thyrsoideus) but I can't find one single internet or phsyical location that has one. I read how often they share caves with other eels and snowflakes are known for doing that too so I thought they'd be a great combo and get to similar adult size.

I originally got interested in starting a saltwater tank after visiting an aquarium and at first wanted an octopus but once I found out they don't live more than like 6 months I stumbled on eels and have been fascinated ever since :)

[Spork3245]

I was talking about the snowflake. When they're juveniles, they eat crustaceans. However, once they hit 24" and sexual maturity their teeth change and so does their behavior. The size of their heads and mouths are no indicator of the size of fish they can take down.

They do this pretzel thing with their bodies that's pretty amazing (unless you're another fish). I had one for many years with no problem. Once it reached adulthood and started doing that pretzel thing, my other fish (a rabbit and lined puffer) would huddle in the corners at feeding time.

That doesn't guarantee that all snowflakes, or even most, will become killing machines. But I would not trust one with small fish once they approach the 24" mark.

Zebras are usually much safer in the long run.

I thought Snowflakes only lived an average of 4 years?

[rssjsb]

Maybe I should have said "several." It's hard to keep track because I bought it locally (i.e., I don't have an email trail), but I'm certain I had it for at least 5-6 years.

A lot of (maybe most) snowflakes in captivity die due to escape, so people may not see the behavior I'm talking about.

[welsher7]

I thought Snowflakes only lived an average of 4 years?

Eels should live for a very long time. I think LisaD had a zebra eel for almost 20 years.

[LukFox]

Eels should live for a very long time. I think LisaD had a zebra eel for almost 20 years.

Yeah they live a long time. Billdog also has an undulate moray that is over 20 years old.

[Bobborocco]

Yeah they live a long time. Billdog also has an undulate moray that is over 20 years old.

thats freaking awesome!!
:thumbsup:

[LukFox]

I actually just went looking to see if that eel was still around, and it looks like it passed a couple months ago at around 25 years of age. Sad, but incredible! Also the owner was Billdogg, I forgot a G on the end.

[desjardinii]

My snowflake was the size of a pencil when I purchased it and I had it for 8 or so years and was 30" long and 3-4" thick when it died. It injured and also ate quite a few fish, taking a liking to any sand dwelling species like gobies etc but did smash and devour an 8" Silver Scat once. It was poor sighted and very dangerous at feeding time, lashing out at anything close enough. Sense of smell was incredible, one tiny drop of squid juice in the water and the eel would frenzy, even coming out of the tank on a couple of occasions! I kept cleaner shrimp in the tank to and they were never touched, even entering the eel's mouth at times.